Tag - upper-house

 
 

UPPER HOUSE

Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 27, 2015
Upper House begins debate on controversial security bills
Debate over the security bills to overhaul Japan's postwar defense policies kicks off in the Upper House.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 24, 2015
Upper House electoral districts set for historic postwar shake-up to end election 'unconstitutionality'
The bill, jointly submitted by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and four opposition parties, rectifies sharp gaps in the weight of votes among a number of constituencies.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 23, 2015
LDP OKs Upper House electoral reform bill for submission with four opposition parties
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Wednesday endorsed a bill proposed by four opposition parties to narrow vote disparities between constituencies in House of Councilors elections.
EDITORIALS
Mar 31, 2015
Local politics matter
Races for this year's nationwide series of local elections kicked off with the start of official campaigns last week for gubernatorial elections in 10 prefectures on April 12 — the same day that local assembly seats in 41 prefectures and 22 major cities will also be contested.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 20, 2014
Record ¥95.88 trillion budget OK'd
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam this weekend to express regret over the vandalism at Tokyo libraries of hundreds of books related to the young Holocaust victim.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 6, 2013
Diet enacts controversial state secrets bill
The Upper House passes the state secrets bill despite soaring opposition over the lack of an independent oversight body to check the government's decisions.
EDITORIALS
Dec 5, 2013
Voter inequality under the law
The disparity in vote value between more and less populous Upper House constituencies has grown so wide that it is undermining the principle of equality under the law with regard to the representation of voters's will.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 30, 2013
Skepticism engulfs secrecy bill
As Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government rammed the controversial state secrecy bill through the Lower House last week, what seemed to become evident is that even his Cabinet ministers lack a coherent understanding of the content, breeding even more skepticism among the public.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 8, 2013
Yamamoto gets Imperial ban for letter; Inoki faces discipline
The Upper House Steering Committee will no longer allow Taro Yamamoto, the anti-nuclear lawmaker who made a public stir by handing a letter to Emperor Akihito, to participate in any event hosted by the Imperial family.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2013
Lawmaker under fire for letter to Emperor
The repercussions continued Friday after independent Upper House lawmaker Taro Yamamoto the previous evening handed an apparently politically inspired letter to Emperor Akihito.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 11, 2013
Strange bedfellows: LDP, DPJ politicians tie the knot
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroshige Seko, a key aide to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and politician Kumiko Hayashi of the Democratic Party of Japan recently got married, secretaries to the lawmakers said Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 3, 2013
Upper House poll to elect officer hits snag: Votes exceed chamber's roster
The 240-member Upper House voted Friday for its new president and vice president, but when ballots were cast for the latter, the tally came to 243.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 2, 2013
Upper House gets first LDP president in six years
A six-day extraordinary Diet session kicked off Friday with the Upper House electing a president from the Liberal Democratic Party for the first time since 2007.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 22, 2013
LDP leaves opposition leadership in disarray
The LDP's victory has given the opposition's leaders a tough choice: whether to quit to clear the party's image or stick to their guns and stay in the fight.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 22, 2013
Tokyo voters mixed but most seem to want LDP in charge
Many voters appear to be putting their faith in the Liberal Democratic Party despite the lack of 'Abenomics' evidence in their lives, The Japan Times finds.
JAPAN / Politics / GAME OF NUMBERS
Jul 5, 2013
Poll may see end to divided Diet but what follows may be worrisome
Unlike the past two House of Councilors elections, in 2007 and 2010, that saw opposition forces win big against the ruling parties, this time around they look to take the hit.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 26, 2013
DPJ hopes platform derails 'Abenomics'
The Democratic Party of Japan, hoping to rebrand itself as the only viable alternative to the Liberal Democratic Party, unveiled a hastily resurrected platform for next month's Upper House election with vows to help the middle class, revive its reactor phaseout goal and oppose any push to amend the Constitution....
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 8, 2013
Hollande gives reconciliation lesson
French President Francois Hollande said Friday in a speech to the Diet that he is concerned by the rising diplomatic tension in Asia and urged Japan to reconcile history issues with neighboring countries just as France and Germany did after World War II.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 6, 2013
Antonio Inoki eyes Diet return on Nippon Ishin ticket
Antonio Inoki, a former professional wrestling star and lawmaker, said Wednesday he will run for an Upper House seat as a candidate of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) in a bid to stage a Diet comeback.
JAPAN / Politics
May 10, 2013
Kawaguchi axed from Upper House panel
Former Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi is ousted as chairwoman of the Upper House Environment Committee as the opposition warms up for the election.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past